Small Town Hero

Chapter 1

Noelle McClure had a hard life. She was granted emancipation from her mother at fourteen. With her declaration of emancipation, she secured herself working full time at the local Dairy Queen. Her friend Janie's parents allowed her to move in after hearing why she had decided to become emancipated from her mother. Everyone in the small town knew all about her mother Gail. Janie's parents made Noelle pay them rent which included food. She quite often bought food for the house and specific items for herself.

She asked Janie's mother to help her set up a budget so she could be more financially responsible. Noelle had plans to leave town and knew she'd need money to do that. Janie's mother, Trisha, was more than happy to help the young teen. Noelle didn't want to stick around town with her mother and the reputation her mother had looming over her head. She'd been mistreated her whole life and she wanted a better life for herself than what she'd had up until that point.

With Janie's parent's help, she got her driver's license and then acquired herself a used Honda to get herself to and from work. It wasn't in the best shape but it was the best she could do with her paychecks. Noelle never spent frivolously knowing she was going to need a large sum of money to make the move to somewhere new. Despite not living with her mother any longer, she still had nightmares of her childhood and the things that she'd gone through and witnessed. Gail was a hard-core drug addict and Noelle had seen her OD on several occasions.

She'd witnessed her mother trading sex for drugs. She even let her dealers mess around with young Noelle as payment on a few occasions. She absolutely despised her mother. When she was seventeen, she had enough money to finally leave. Janie was fighting tears as Noelle packed her car with her few possessions. Janie's parents, Trisha and Josh, stood at the front door and watched the two girls. They'd come to love Noelle like their own daughter. Once she'd packed her car, she walked up to where the pair stood.

"I'll never be able to thank you enough for all you've done for me." Noelle stated.

"You're always welcome here, sweetie." Trisha stated.

"That's right. If things don't work out where you're going, you're more than welcome to come back here." Josh told her.

"I hope it won't come to that." Noelle chuckled, "But thank you."

"I'm going to miss you so much!" Janie exclaimed as she threw her arms around Noelle's neck.

"I know. But this is needed. It's time for me to get out of here. Get away from her and her reputation." Noelle sighed as she hugged her best friend back, "You've got pictures of us. You've memories. Once I get a phone and an address, I'll be sure to write and give it to you."

"Be safe out there. Stop every few hours to stretch your legs. Find a hotel when you start getting tired. There's no need to keep going when you're fighting sleep." Josh told her.

"I will. Well, this is it. Thanks for everything. I'll miss you all." Noelle told the family before turning and walking to her car.

"Is she going to be alright, dad?" Janie inquired.

"She's a strong kid. She'll make it." Josh told his daughter.

He was sure Noelle would make it but not so sure about her car. It was on the beat-up side and did have mechanical problems quite often. He wanted her to find another vehicle but she didn't want to stick around town any longer to save up for another vehicle. Noelle found the highway and cranked the radio up. It was time to find somewhere to settle down and make a life for herself. She'd been driving for two days when her car began to over-heat. Sighing, she figured the next town she came to, she'd find an auto mechanic shop and see if they could tell her what was wrong with her car.